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Barrett began cutting in 1997 on the high school rodeo circuit. She was introduced to the sport by a good friend, Ricky Thaggard, a cutter who put Barrett on one of his horses and eventually sold her Shamus Silver Bar, a 1979 gelding that was strong as ever in the cutting pen. In 1999, Barrett stepped up and attended a few NCHA weekend cuttings along with beginning her earnings record. In 2000, she and Peppylena (APHA) stepped out to several NCHA shows and ended the season seventh in the Senior Youth standings. The next year was highlighted by a new horse, Docs Bar Pep, a 1988 gelding that helped Barrett earn her 2002 honors. Bred and raised by W.S. Morris III, Augusta, Ga., the gelding is by Wheeling Peppy and out of Ima Doc Bar Too by Doc's Solano. After purchasing the horse from Kirk Kincade in June 2001, Barrett and her horse won $2,345 from July through November. When she started out the 2002 season, Barrett knew she wanted to haul for a World title but was not completely settled on exactly which one. That's about the time she swept the competition at the Winter Circuit in Gonzales, La., in January. "I did pretty well and jumped my money up," Barrett said. "That's when I decided to go ahead and haul for the Rookie." In February, Barrett trailed Alex Long, Mariposa, Calif., by nearly $2,000 and over the following month, that amount narrowed by a few hundred dollars. By early April, however, Barrett jumped into the lead and was closely pursued by Brian Britton, Weatherford, Texas. The race between these two contenders would last until the very end. In April, Barrett maintained a $1,727 cushion, a margin that stayed pretty even until well into the summer when Barrett pulled away with a substantial lead. According to the September Chatter, the Mississippi cutter had $15,516 in earnings, while Britton's amount was $11,951. Even though she was at the top, Barrett did not let up. "I didn't want to stop because you can ever really tell what it going to happen," she explained. "They wanted me to keep hauling like I was still fighting for it." For the remainder of the season, Barrett kept going strong with the help and encouragement of her parents, Bob and Patti, along with trainer Keith Deaville, Rayne, La. With so much time spent on the road, Barrett was not able to spend much time at Deaville's place and so the trainer tuned Docs Bar Pep at shows. "There were a lot of phone calls," Barrett said about how she and Deaville communicated during the busy season. "For pretty much anything I needed, he was there." As for little Rickey, the youth cutters were always glad to baby sit and play with the toddler while his mother warmed up her horse, watched cattle and showed. Barrett also received a lot of assistance from professional and non-pro cutters at the shows and she was particularly thankful to Allen Crouch, Pat Earnheart and Tim May. Barrett is one of six children; she has three sisters and two brothers. One of her brothers, Rickey, died suddenly of a heart attack two years ago at age 30. "I hauled in his memory," Barrett said about her successful 2002 show season. For the upcoming year, Barrett hoped to hit the road with a younger, more competitive horse. Docs Bar Pep was for sale and Barrett planned on starting 2003 off easy and to stay in the top 15 in the $50,000 Amateur and then compete at the World Finals. Nursing school, to begin in the fall, was also on the cutter's agenda. Reprinted with permission of Quarter Horse News.
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